Encyclopedia of Horror Lore

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Haunted Places

Perron Family

Date of Discovery

The Perron moved in during 1971, however the property dated back to the mid-1800s when the Sherman’s were living there.

Name

The Perron family and Bathsheba

Physical Description

The house had white siding with large windows, enclosed porch, and 5 bedrooms among the house, as well as a built-in garage.

Origin

The house was built in the Baptist town of Harrisville, Rhode Island where it still stands today.

Mythology & Lore

                In January 1971, the Perron family moved into a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, that had a dark and strange history. Carolyn, Roger, and their 5 daughters began to notice strange happenings immediately after moving into the house. Carolyn reported various household items would move around the house, sounds of something scraping the kettle, and she kept finding small piles of dirt on the floor. The young girls began to see spirits around the house, and alleged most were harmless, however, a few were very angry. The worst of all the spirits was Bathsheba, Carolyn found records showing the family was the only family to own the home for 8 generations, many died under mysterious or horrible circumstances.

                Records show a Bathsheba Sherman, also known as Thayer, lived on the property in the mid-1800s, rumored to have been a Satanist, and was buried in a nearby cemetery. Several of the children drowned, one was murdered, and a few of the family members hung themselves in the attic of the home. “Whoever the spirit was, she perceived herself to be mistress of the house and she resented the competition my mother posed for that position,” said Andrea Perron, which was the eldest Perrons’ daughter. Andrea also reported there were other spirits on the property as well. She claimed there would be a rotting flesh smell, beds levitated off the floor, heating equipment would fail, and so on. The Warrens we called in on several trips to the house and performed many tests. Eventually the family was able to move out in 1980, after which they did not experience any other spirits or hauntings.

                With local legends claiming Bathsheba as a witch the mysterious deaths of her children, she would see infamy in the horror culture world. The spirit Bathsheba goes on to become one of the Warrens’ cases that inspired the 2013 film, The Conjuring, the second being The Enfield Haunting. There were many of the Warrens’ case to be featured in the many horror series of The Conjuring as well as others. Andrea went on to become an author of a book about the hauntings called House of Darkness: House of Light – The True Story. Bathsheba’s grave can still be found inside the Harrisville Cemetery, her name still has investigator’s debating to this day.

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Pocong

Name

Known most frequently as Pocong, or Pochong, meaning “wrapped ghost.” Also known in Indonesia and Malaysia as a kain kafan, which translates roughly to, “(fabric) shroud,” As well as hantu bungkus, or “the wrapped ghost,” in Malaysia.

Physical Description

Described as having a pale green, shriveled, and decaying face–where its eyes should be, there are two abyss-like holes. It is said that due to the Muslim origins of this legend, the pocong is wrapped in the prescribed length of cloth used in Muslim burials to wrap the body of a dead person. The corpse is covered in white fabric which is tied over their head, under their feet, and around the neck. Because they have their feet tied together, the pocong cannot walk, which causes the pocong to hop like a rabbit, but they can hop up to fifty meters (a little over 162 feet) at a time. It is said they also have the ability to fly and teleport.

Pocong in Indonesia
Photography by Adhietya Saputra

Origin

Believed to have originated in Indonesia, the pocong is a wrapped ghost that is said to be the soul of a dead person trapped within its shroud. According to the traditional beliefs of the region, the soul of a dead person will stay in the realm of the living for forty days after their death–if the ties of the shroud are not untied after forty days the body is said to jump out from the grave to warn people that they need their soul released. After the ties are untied the soul is released and will leave the realm of the living forever.

Mythology and Lore

The Response to COVID-19

During the COVID-19 crisis of 2020, volunteers began dressing as the pocong, getting wrapped in white sheets and roaming the streets of neighborhoods in Indonesia’s central province on Java island to deter people from going and visiting each other during the period of self-isolation due to the viral outbreak. In Kepuh village of Sukoharjo, volunteers of this phenomenon told Reuters, that they have been conducting surprise patrols every few days since early April. Their plan initially backfired due to the fact that these patrols became a social media sensation–so a bunch of people actually came out of their homes just to see what was going on. Despite the setback, the volunteers of Kepuh have been working to mitigate the impact of COVD-19 through coordinated efforts with ministries, government agencies, and regional administrations.

He added later that the initiative was in cooperation with the local police force, saying that they, “set up the pocong roadblock,” and that the “environment of the village had become more conducive [to the idea of staying inside].”



Is there anything we missed about the Pocong? Let us know in the comments section below!

Pukwudgie

Date of Discovery

There is not a confirmed date to when the first tales of Pukwudgie came to be as they are connected to the World-Creation stories of many Native American tribes. In the late 1900s, many authors began to publish stories of traditional Native American folklore which included Pukwudgie tales.

Name

Pukwudgie, Bagwajinini, Bokwjimen, Little Ones, Little People

Physical Description

Standing around 2 to 5 feet tall walking up-right resembling humans with enlarged noses, fingers, and ears. Their skin is a smooth or flat grey tone and has also been reported to glow at times.

Origin

This creature’s known origin is in Native American tribes all over the North American continent, and mainly within the Wampanoag folklore. Pukwudgie began in connection to ‘Maushop’, a creations giant to the Wampanoag culture, who held great affections from the Native tribes on his lands. The Pukwudgies were highly jealous of this connection Maushop and the Natives of Cape Cod had, so they tried intently to help the Wampanoag, but their efforts often backfired so they eventually resorted to tormenting them instead. Maushop then collected up as many Pukwudgies as he could and shook them until they were utterly confused, then tossed them around New England areas. Some of the creatures died upon impact, some landed just fine and regained their mental factors before trying to make their way back to the cape in Massachusetts. Once they found their home amongst the Wampanoags they began kidnapping children, burning homes, and killing the tribe. Legends say Maushop and his wife attempted to kill and crush as many as possible and as a result lost their sons in the battle. After this Maushop disappears from Wampanoags’ mythology completely and the Pukwudgie scattered from the Cape area to New England and beyond.

Mythology & Lore

There are many tales of encounters with these creatures, most taking place in the deep wooded areas around tribal lands. Most Native Americans believe they are to be avoided and left alone at all costs, or you will have nasty tricks played on you, as well as the creatures following you causing more and more trouble as time goes on. They are commonly known for kidnapping people, pushing them off high cliffs, attacking them with knives or spears, blinding you with sand, and shooting you with poisoned arrows.  

In the Native American lore, Pukwudgies have the following abilities:

  • They can appear or disappear at will
  • Transform into porcupines that walk up-right, but with a troll-like profiled hunch
  • They attack people and lure them to their deaths
  • Use magic
  • Shoot poison arrows
  • Create fire at will
  • Control Tei-Pai-Wankas (the souls of Native American’s they have killed)

Many tribes have their names, tails, and individual lore surrounding the Pukwudgies; each show the creatures nature a bit differently but all resembling that of European gnomes or fairies. According to Legendary Native American Figures, the tribal affiliation is mainly within Ojibwe, Algonquin, Abenaki, Wampanoag, and Mohican tribes, which range from southern Canada down into the northeastern USA and Great Lake areas. In the Ojibwe and Great Lake tribes they are mischievous but more often good-natured and not dangerous to people. The Abenaki believe they are only dangerous to those who disrespect or treat them badly. The Wampanoag stories of these creatures portray the darker and more dangerous sides of these creatures were death is the worse thing they can cause.  

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